Can filling apparatus



Sheet Filed Feb. 1, 1967 Filed Feb. 1, 1967 March 25,1969 H. B. LEE 3,434,630

CAN FILLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 1, 1967 Sheet 3 of 4 7 E4. 14616151425 imozmzm March 25, 1969 H. B. LEE 3,434,630

CAN FILLING APPARATUS FiledFeb.1, 1967 Sheet H l I 7 IE. 9- .EJL-

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United States Patent 3,434,630 CAN FILLING APPARATUS Harold Barry Lee, West Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia,

assignor to F.M.C. (Australia) Limited, Clayton, Victoria, Australia Filed Feb. 1, 1967, Ser. No. 613,250 Into Cl. B65!) 3/02, 3/04 U.S. Cl. 222-1685 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is particularly applicable to rotary filling apparatus of the kind disclosed in the specification of US. Patent Nos. 2,998,037 and 3,127,071.

Each filling head of othe machines covered by our said prior patents, comprises an open ended fixed vertical cylinder which is closed at its lower end by an angularly movable valve member having one or more ports therein. In one angular position of this valve member, the port therein, or one of them registers with a corresponding supply or inflow passage from a central storage hopper while in another angular position thereof, the said port, or one of them registers with a discharge port in a fixed valve plate arranged below and in contact with the valve member.

The cylinder is fitted with a piston provided with a laterally projecting arm which extends through a vertical guide slot in the wall of the cylinder and the outer end of this arm is fitted with a roller for engagement with a cam track by means of which the piston is raised and lowered as required.

The aforesaid angularly movable valve member is secured to the lower end of an axial valve rod which passes centrally through the piston and which has its projecting upper end fitted with striker arms for engagement with cooacting striker members arranged at suitable fixed positions whereby the valve member is alternately moved in one direction to open the inlet port therein and in the opposite direction to close the inlet port and open the discharge port.

Summary of the invention Now the object of this invention is to provide improvements in can filling machines of the piston and cylinder type and especially in machines of the kind covered by any aforesaid prior patents.

Accordingly, the invention provides a can filling machine having a filling head comprising a vertically disposed measuring cylinder mounted for angular movements within a housing, the said cylinder being closed at its lower end and being provided in or adjacent to said lower end with one or more passages for the inflow and discharge of filling material to and from the cylinder below a slidable piston therein, a fixed valve plate arranged below and in contact with the closed lower end of the cylinder and provided with a discharge port and means whereby angular movements may *be imparted to said cylinder thereby to cause said passage or passages therein to register alternately with a supply passage and said discharge port.

The said cylinder may be angularly moved in opposite directions alternately to effect the successive measuring and discharge operations, but preferably it is intermittently rotated in one direction only and said cylinder is preferably formed with separate inflow and discharge passages and the inflow passage or passages may be arranged either in the bottom or closed lower end of the cylinder or in the peripheral wall thereof.

Preferably, the open upper end of the cylinder projects from the housing and is fitted with striker means for engagement with coacting fixed strikers to move the cylinder angularly from its filling to its discharge position and vice versa and means are preferably provided to prevent the movement of the cylinder to its discharge position unless a can or other receptacle is arranged therebelow.

The aforesaid piston is preferably secured to the lower end of a piston rod which projects through the open upper end of the cylinder and is fitted with guide means and also with means by which it is successively raised and lowered as required for the inflow and discharge respectively of a measured volume of filling material to and from the cylinder.

Preferably, the filling apparatus comprises a plurality of the said filling heads arranged at equal angular in tervals about and rigidly connected to a central rotary storage chamber or hopper substantially as described in the specifications of our said prior patents, though alternatively, the machine may be of the straight-line or other similar type as hereinafter mentioned.

Filling apparatus as above defined provides important advantages in that among other things, as compared with the apparatus disclosed in our said prior specifications, it permits the measuring cylinders to be reduced in length and this is especially advantageous when cans of a relatively large diameter are to be filled. Also, the necessity for actuating the valve by means of a long spindle extending axially through the slidable piston is avoided and manufacture, assembly and adjustment are facilitated.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practice, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which two embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a plan view, showing certain components broken away, of a can filling machine made in accordance with the invention, the machine having six filling heads;

FIGURE 2 is a section along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and shows the arrangement of one filling head when this is in a position shortly preceding delivery, the head being of a type adapted to receive solid or partly solid materials;

FIGURE 3 is a section along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and shows the arrangement of the various. inlet and outlet ports of the head;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4 of FIGURE 1 and shows a filling head in the condition it has assumed when delivery of the material from the cylinder is completed;

FIGURE 5 is a section along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4 showing the condition of the outlet ports when the piston is at the bottom of the cylinder;

FIGURE 6 is a view partly in perspective and partly broken away showing the arrangement of the ports at the lower end of the cylinder;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the plate which is located between the lower end of the cylinder and the bottom plate;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the bottom plate;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view of one of the cylinders of an alternative form of the invention, the form being adapted for use with liquid materials and the figure showing the delivery position of the cylinder;

FIGURE 10 is a section along line 1010 of FIGURE 9 showing the location of the ports;

FIGURE 11 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 9 showing an arrangement wherein inlet to the cylinder is possible;

FIGURE 12 is a section along line 12-12 of FIGURE 11 showing the particular port arrangement at this time;

FIGURE 13 is a section along line 13-13 of FIGURE 12 showing the arrangement of ports which permits the flow of liquid into the cylinder; and

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of the form of intermediate plate used in the embodiment of FIGURES 9 to 13.

Description of the preferred embodiment This machine is generally similar to the machines described and illustrated in the specifications of our said prior patents in that it comprises a base, not illustrated, which supports an assembly 1 which is rotatable about a vertical axis and which comprises a central storage vessel 2 and a plurality of filling heads 3 arranged outwardly thereof and at equal angular spacings thereabout. In the illustrated embodiment there are six such heads 3. This rotary assembly also includes an annular can supporting table, not illustrated, which is located at a suitable distance below the filling heads 3 to support cans 12 of the requisite size and a feed wheel or other suitable device, not illustrated, operated in timed relation with the rotary assembly 1, is arranged at a suitable position adjacent to and exteriorly of the table to remove the successive filled cans from the table and to deliver empty cans thereto, means being provided to locate each can in register with the respective head 3 disposed thereabove. The can path is illustrated by the broken line bearing arrowheads in FIGURE 1.

Each of the said filling heads 3 comprises an openended, vertical housing 4 of tubular form which is secured rigidly to the adjacent lower portion of the central storage chamber 2 about a corresponding inflow passage 5 which extends outwardly from the bottom of the storage chamber in alignment with an aperture 6 in the wall of the adjacent lower end portion of the housing 4.

The housing 4 neatly accommodates a cylinder 7 which is open at its upper end and which is closed at its lower end by a flat integral disc 8 the upper surface of which is disposed in the same plane as the bottom 9 of the storage chamber 2 when the cylinder is in its lowermost position, as illustrated in FIGURE 2. This cylinder 7 has formed in its periphery and immediately above its closed lower end a diametrically opposed pair of inlet passages 10 which are disposed in the same plane as the said inflow aperture 6 in the wall of the housing 4 so as to register successively therewith when the cylinder 7 is intermittently rotated in the housing 4 as hereinafter described.

The flat disc 8 of the cylinder 7 is also provided with a diametrically opposed pair of holes 11, or discharge passages, which are spaced at equal distances from the cylinder axis, the centre lines of these holes 11 being disposed substantially at right angles to the common centre line of the said peripheral inlet passages 10 in the wall of the cylinder 7. Since the cup shaped cylinders 7 also serve as valves, they may be characterized as cylinder valves.

The lower end of the cylinder housing 4 is closed by a removable bottom plate 13 which is retained thereto by an internally threaded flanged ring 14 and which plate 13 is retained in a fixed position relative to the housing 4 by means of at least one locating pin 15 in the housing. This or these pins pass through the aperture of apertures 22 in the plate 13.

A flat disc 16 which preferably is formed of plastic material such as polytetrafluoroethylene or any other material having the desired heat resistant properties, is 10- 4 cated relative to the underside of the disc 8 at the lower end of the cylinder 7 by means of pins 17 formed on the disc 8 and which enter apertures 18 in the upper surface of the disc 16. The disc is provided with a central aperture 19 through Which passes a boss 20 formed on the underside of the lower end 8 of the cylinder which boss enters a recess 21 in the removable bottom plate 13. Alternatively, the disc 16 may be formed as to be located rela tive to the plate 13 in which case it need only have a single aperture 23, which corresponds to the hole 24 in the bottom plate 13.

The disc 16 is provided with a pair of apertures 23 which correspond to the holes 11 in the lower end of the cylinder and each of which is aligned with one of the holes 11 when assembled.

The bottom plate 13 is formed with an eccentric hole 24 which extends therethrough and through which the material may be discharged from the interior of the cylinder 7 into a can 12 disposed therebelow. This hole 24 is disposed at the same distance from the cylinder axis as the discharge holes 11 in the bottom of the cylinder and the associated apertures 23 in the plate 16 so as to register successively therewith as the cylinder 7 is rotated.

The open upper end portion 25 of the cylinder projects from the upper end of its housing 4 and this projecting portion is formed below its upper end with an external circumferential groove 26 and this is engaged by a plurality of spaced and adjustable holddown members 42 which prevent upward movements of the cylinder 7 within its housing 4 while permitting the cylinder to rotate freely therein. The lower faces of these hold-down members may preferably be lined with Teflon, registered trademark.

The housing 4 may have a thread formed on its upper end and a sealing ring 44 to form a seal between the housing and cylinder held between the two members by a threaded flanged member 45 attached to the housing 4.

The projecting upper end 25 of the cylinder is also provided above the circumferential flange 27 which defines the upper surface of the groove 26 with a sleeve 28 thereon with four outwardly projecting striker arms 29, arranged in pairs and mutually at angles of 90 about the cylinder axis and one diametrically opposed pair 29 of these striker arms is arranged at a higher level than the other diametrically opposed pair 30 thereof.

The fixed frame of the machine also supports two rollers 31, 32 which are arranged approximately in diametrical opposition for engagement respectively with the upper and lower striker arms 29, 30 on the several cylinders as the respective filling heads are passing those positions during each complete rotation of the machine whereby each cylinder 7 is caused by each coacting pair of striker arms 29, 30 to turn about its vertical axis through an angle of approximately 90. Thus, each cylinder undergoes two angular movements, each approximately of 90, as the machine undergoes each complete revolution. The first movement, as will be described more fully hereafter, can only occur if a can is positioned beneath the filling head.

The arrangement of the striker arms and rollers can be seen from examination of FIGURES 1 and 2 and FIGURES 1 and 4 respectively. The roller 31 which contacts striker arm 29 is carried in a sub-assembly 46 which in turn is carried on a rod 33 which is attached to the frame of the assembly.

The sub-assembly 46 comprises a cylinder 34 which is attached to a carrier member 47 by means of a pivot pin 48 and which carries a piston 35, a shaft 36 associated therewith carrying the roller 31. There is also provided a shear means, not illustrated, which can be considered to operate in a manner similar to the shear means associated with the sub-assembly 38 of the roller 32 as will be described hereinafter.

To the upper end of the cylinder 34 there isconnected a source 37 of high pressure air or other fluid whereby the piston can selectively be moved downwardly relative to the cylinder 34 and on such movement, the roller 31 is moved so that striker arm 29 contacts therewith. When there is no such movement the roller 31 does not contact the striker arm 29. The value of this arrangement will be described hereinafter.

The roller 32 is attached to a sub-assembly 38 which sub-assembly is attached to a rod 39 which is part of the fixed frame of the assembly. As illustrated, the sub-assembly 38 is fixed relative to the rod 39 but it may be movable therealong. The sub-assembly 38 comprises a carrier member 40 which has the roller 32 attached thereto and which itself may have vertical adjustment so that the roller is located in a position as to be squarely struck by the striker arm 30. The carrier member 40 is attached to a base 50 by a pivot pin 49. The arrangement is located by a shear pin 51 and a micro-switch, not illustrated, may be positioned to be actuated on the shear pin 51 being broken, the micro-switch causing the machine to stop operating.

The operative inter-relation between each striker arm and its associated roller can briefly be described as follows.

Shortly after each filling head 3 passes the position where the aforesaid can feed-wheel places an empty can directly below it on the annular table, the striker roller 31 is in its lowest position and one of the diametrically opposed pair of upper striker arms 29 on the respective cylinder 7 engages the corresponding roller 31 and this contact causes the cylinder to be rotated through an angle of approximately 90. This movement causes one of the diametrically opposed pair of discharge passages 11 in the bottom of the cylinder to be moved into register with the discharge hole 24 in the fixed bottom plate 13 so that a measured volume of material then contained in the lower end of the respective cylinder 7 commerces to discharge into the can 12. The valve arrangement is that as illustrated in FIGURE 4 with the piston being positioned as illustrated in FIGURE 2. When the cylinder is in this position, the diametrically opposed pair of inlet passages 10 in the periphery of the lower end portion of the cylinder 7 are both disposed out of register with the coacting inflow passage 6 in the periphery of the cylinder housing.

As the machine turns through an angle of 180 from that position, the piston 41 (hereinafter described) in the respective cylinder is moved downwardly from its uppermost position to its lowermost position whereby the measured volume of material is discharged from the cylinder into the can disposed therebelow.

When the filling head has been moved through an angle of approximately 180 from the first-mentioned roller 31, one of the diametrically opposed pair of lower striker arms 30 on the upper end of the respective cylinder engages the other or second striker roller 32 and is caused thereby to undergo a further partial rotation of approximately 90". This angular movement is preferably in the same direction as the previous partial rotation imparted thereto though it could, if desired, be in the opposite direction.

This further partial rotation of the cylinder causes one of the peripheral inlet passages 10 in the lower end portion of the cylinder 7 to move into register with the respective inflow passage from the storage chamber 2 while simultaneously one of the discharge holes or passages 11 in the lower end of the cylinder which was previously in register with the co-acting discharge passage 24 in the fixed bottom plate of the cylinder housing is moved out of register therewith.

At this time one of the passages is in coincidence with the inflow passage 5 and as the machine continues its rotation from this position, the piston 41 in the cylinder 7 moves upwardly therein to draw a further measured quantity of material from the storage chamber 2 and this operation is completed before the filled can is removed and replaced by a further empty can.

The machine also includes means, not illustrated, for sensing or detecting the presence of an empty can 12 below each filling head 3 shortly before this can is placed on the table and before the cylinder 7 thereof is turned by the first-mentioned and upper striker roller 31 so as to be moved angularly from its filling or measuring position to its discharge position. This sensing or detecting means operates to cause the said first-mentioned striker roller 31 to be moved downwardly to the operative position when a can 12 is located below the filling head 3 to receive the measured volume of material then in the cylinder. The operation is by pressure air or other fluid entering the cylinder 34 and forcing the piston 35 and the roller downward. If there is no pressure air or other fluid applied to the cylinder 34 the piston is moved upwardly by the helical spring 52 and the striker arm 29 is not contacted by the roller. This is the position assumed by the piston when there is no can below the filling head.

Alternatively, the arrangement may be such that the piston is retained in its uppermost position in opposition to a spring by the pressure of fluid in the lower end of the cylinder. The lower end of the cylinder is fitted with an electromagnetically controlled exhaust valve which is automatically opened when a can is detected by the sensing device thus permitting the spring 52 to move the piston downwardly to enable roller 31 to engage with striker arm 29.

When roller 31 is raised because a can is not placed under the filling head the cylinder 7 is not partially rotated from its filling or measuring position so that as the piston 41 therein subsequently descends, as the filling head subsequently moves towards the second-mentioned striker roller 32, it forces the measured volume of material back into the storage chamber 2 through the respective inflow passages 10 and 5. In such circumstances, also, the cylinder 7 is not moved angularly when it subsequently passes the said second striker roller 32. This is because the cylinder 7 is already in the filling or measuring position with the result that neither of the diametrically opposed pair of lower striker members 30 on the cylinder 7 is then disposed in a position for engagement with said second strike roller 32 while the upper striker members are at all times disposed above the level of that roller.

As previously stated, the cylinder 7 of each filling head is fitted with a slidable piston 41. This piston is attached to the lower end of a rod 53 which projects upwardly through the open upper end of the cylinder, and which has its free upper end extending slidably through a guide bearing 54 which is attached to the storage vessel 2 by an extension 55 extending therefrom.

The piston rod 53 is divided above the cylinder 7 but below the bearing 54 by a support member 56 which has an arm 57 extending from each side of the member 56 and which arm is arranged radially with respect to the central storage chamber 2.

The inwardly projecting portion of this radial arm 57 is fitted with a guide roller or slide block 58 which operates in a vertical guide groove 59 in a guide member 60 fixed to the wall of the central storage chamber 2 while the outwardly projecting portion of the arm is fitted with a horizontal roller 61 which operates in a cam track 62 comprising upper and lower rails 63, 64 which track extends circumferentially about the machine and which is suitably shaped to raise and lower the piston during predetermined portions of the rotation of the machine. The rails 63, 64 are preferably adjustable in order that the stroke of the pistons may be varied as required to suit the capacities of cans of different sizes. Also the upper rail 63 need not be continuous as when the piston is being raised the lower rail 64 is the only rail acting. The omission of a length of upper rail simplifies the cleaning process as will be described hereinafter.

The adjustment of the cam track 62 is preferably that the upper end of the movement of the arm 57 is such that the inner roller 58 can be brought into alignment with a cut-out in the vertical groove 59 wherein the piston rod 53 can be rotated to free the rollers 58 and 61 from the vertical groove 59 and the space between the rails 63, 64 of the cam track. At this position the piston 41 can be removed from the cylinder 7 for cleaning or service purposes.

From the preceding description, it will be understood that, among other things, the present invention provides a filling head including a measuring cylinder 7 which is closed at its lower end and is provided in or adjacent to such lower end with inlet and discharge ports whereby the cylinder, when moved angularly, serves also as a valve member with consequent advantages in construction, design and operation.

Alternate embodiment In the machine described with reference to FIGURES 1 to 9 the inlet ports or passages in the cylinder are arranged in the periphery and near the bottom thereof whereby the material enters the cylinder radially through the wall thereof. This arrangement is preferably used when the material to be canned contains solids and in such circumstances, the piston 41 when in its lowermost position is arranged to be at a height above the cylinder bottom which is not less than the particle size of solids contained in the filling material.

When, however, the material to be canned is a free flowing liquid, the lower end of the piston when in its lowermost position is preferably disposed substantially in contact with the bottom of the cylinder and such an arrangement is illustrated in FIGURES 9 to 14. This arrangement is preferred to avoid or limit aeration of the liquid as it is forced from the cylinder into the adjacent can. In this arrangement the said diametrically opposed inlet ports or passages instead of being arranged in the Wall of the cylinder are preferably arranged in the flat bottom or closed lower end 8 of the cylinder.

For this purpose, the aforesaid diametrically opposed pair of discharge ports or passages 11 therein may serve alternately as inlet and discharge passages, while the lower end portion 66 of the cylinder is reduced in diameter to form an annular space 69 between it and the inner periphery of the housing 4. Also, the aforesaid flat disc or plate 16 is replaced by an alternate form of plate '67 which is located relative to the top of the fixed bottom plate 13 of the housing 4. The plate 67 has an aperture 68 which forms, with the aperture 24, the discharge passage. The plate 67 is suitably shaped to enable liquid to pass around the annular space 69, below the bottom of the cylinder and upwardly thereinto through the ports 11 therein when the latter are disposed 90 out of register with the single discharge passage 24 in the fixed bottom plate of the filling head.

More particularly, the plate 67 may be made of polytetrafluoroethylene or other synthetic plastic material and is shaped to have a diametrically opposed pair of recesses 70 which extend inwardly from its periphery and which freely communicate at their outer ends with the said annular space 69 about the reduced lower end of the cylinder. The inner ends of these recesses 70 are so located as to register with the diametrically opposed pair of ports 11 in the bottom of the cylinder 7 when the latter is in its filling position, as can best be seen from FIGURE 13.

As previously mentioned, each cylinder instead of being intermittently rotated in one direction, may be alternately moved angularly in opposite directions while the number and angular spacing of the inflow and/or discharge passages may be varied according to requirements including the size of the cans or other containers to be filled. In this connection, it will be understood that the angle and the direction through which the cylinder is turned at each actuation thereof is determined by the spacing of the respective ports.

Thus, for example, the cylinder could be provided with three equally spaced inflow ports and the same number of discharge ports instead of with a diametrically opposed pair of each as previously described and in such circumstances, the cylinder would be turned through an angle of 60 instead of an angle of at each actuation.

Again, according to another modification, the cylinder could be provided with one hole only which serves alternately as an inlet and a discharge passage in the general manner already described above as being preferred when the filling material does not contain solids. Thus, reverting to the particular modification of FIGURES 9 to 13, the single combined inflow and discharge passage in the cylinder is alternately moved into register with an inflow port and a discharge port. This may be best accomplished by alternately moving the cylinder angularly in opposite directions though this is not essential and such circumstances, the extent of these angular movements depends only on the selected angular spacing of the fixed inflow and discharge passages.

As previously briefly mentioned herein, the invention is not limited to use in rotary filling machines as particularly described above, as it is also applicable, for example, to straight-line and other similar machines, in which for example, a series of spaced filling heads may be arranged at one side of a storage chamber or hopper and which includes means for periodically removing filled cans from below the heads and replacing same with empty cans.

In applying the present invention to such a machine, each filling head comprises a housing having a measuring cylinder mounted therein for angular movements as above described and any suitable lever, cam, toothed gearing or other suitable mechanism may be provided for imparting the requisite angular movements to the cylinders at predetermined times or stages of the filling operations.

I claim:

1. A can filling machine having a rotary filling head, said head comprising a central rotary reservoir carrying a plurality of peripheral cup shaped housings external of the reservoir, cup shaped cylinder valves rotatable in said housings, material discharging pistons in said cylinder valves and cooperating with said cylinder valves throughout their stroke, inflow passages in said reservoir and in each housing and leading to each cylinder valve, inflow passages formed in said cylinder valves for charging the cylinders as their pistons are retracted, a discharge passage in each housing opening to a can, discharge passages in said cylinder valves for discharging through said housing discharge passages and filling the cans as said piston is advanced, means including radial projections on the cylinder valves for rotating said valves to alternately connect said respective inflow and discharge passages, and means for retracting and advancing said pistons in said cylinder valves as said filling head is rotated.

2. The can filling machine of claim 1, wherein there are two diametrically opposed inflow passages and two diametrically opposed discharge passages in each cylinder valve, said diameters being at 90.

3. The can filling machine of claim 2, wherein said inflow passages are in the sides of the housings and in the sides of the cylinder valves, and wherein the discharge passages are in the bottoms of the housings and in the bottoms of the cylinder valves.

4. The can filling machine of claim 1, wherein said cylinder valve projections are cam strikers.

5. The can filling machine of claim 1, wherein the closed lower end of each cylinder valve has associated therewith a gasket member, which gasket member is formed to correspond with the lower end of the cylinder valve and provides a seal between the lower end of the cylinder valve and the housing.

(References on following page) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Wilcox 222-217 Kiefer 222---168.5 Russell 222-309 5 Nilsson 222221 Bingham 222168.5

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

